2020 seems to be the year of farewell to a generation of consoles that has given us great moments. If in June PlayStation released its final fireworks with The Last of Us Part II , the continuation of its great exclusive title, in July it gave us once again a joy with the launch of Ghost of Tsushima , a video game developed by Sucker Punch that had been leaving seen for a long time and promised an adventure and open world experience starring a fearsome samurai warrior.
Ghost of Tsushima takes us back to the year 1274, when Kublai Khan’s forces arrived on the shores of Tsushima with the intention of establishing a secure base from which to launch a massive conquest of the Japanese archipelago. At that time the khan not only possessed the greatest empire of his time but his armies were the best and most feared in all of Asia and part of Europe. To confront them, the island had the garrison of the local lord (between 80 and 100 samurai) . So far the historical approach that takes the facts as a starting point to tell a story typical of any Akira Kurosawa film (to whom the game owes a lot). We put ourselves in the shoes of Jin Sakai , nephew of the powerful Lord Shimura who survives the first battle with the Mongols and decides to seek revenge on his own, even if it means abandoning the code by which he has been governed all his life. Short of allies and with limited resources, Jin will have to decide what he is willing to sacrifice to save his people and defeat the invader and if he can become the legend that embodies all that is contrary to samurai life: the Ghost .
Ghost ot Tsushima stands out mainly for two things. On the one hand, the excellent simulation that makes of what it should feel like to be a samurai warrior , from his most cultured and calm side to the mastery of the different combat techniques and the singular fight in katana duels that take your breath away. On the other, the deep setting and the work of recreation of the overflowing nature of Tsushima , which can be appreciated in every blade of grass and every stream that flows without the war disturbing its course. Precisely both elements come together in the treatment that Jin has with the environment and the nature that surrounds him, since he depends on it to orient himself and survive.
Ghost of Tsushima wanted to get away from those minimaps with the marked route or compasses over our heads and has opted for a type of orientation in which the player must learn to read the signals that the forest and the mountain give them . During the first moments of the game it is a bit shocking because it is a system that open world titles do not have us used to but once you get the point it is very comfortable and it is a point in favor for the Sucker Punch game.
To make work easier for those who have just begun to immerse themselves in the history of Jin Sakai, here are some of the main signals that you will have to learn to interpret if you want to survive in Tsushima .
